Live Big with Ali Vincent Episodes

Transforming Bridgette Lewis

Bridgette Lewis makes time for everybody but herself. She's been taking care of her mom for the past six years as well as many other family members. Now, Ali Vincent is stepping in to help Bridgette live big.

Her weight has crept up. She reached out to Ali Vincent for help. Bridgette thought a Live Big producer was coming to her house for an interview, but Ali showed up instead.

Ali read her story and needed to meet Bridgette. She wants to do whatever she can to help her Live Big.

"I'm here to help you make some adjustments so that you can feel fantastic, full of energy and you give so much to your mom and to other people that I want to, I want to give to you," says Ali.

Bridgette has needed this for a long time because she has given so much of herself to so many people, but she forgot about giving to herself. She pours out so much with taking care of her mom, the most loving, caring, giving person ever, but she realized she is only one person.

"I know that I'm eating too much and where I am right now is I really want to eat for nutrition," says Bridgette. "I can't continue the way that I've been doing, I just, I can't."

Bridgette is ready to Live Big, get the weight off and inspire some other people using Ali as a shining example.

Ali assured Bridgette that she was going to encourage her to do different things that are more just to have some girl time. The goal was to find some Bridgette time.

Between 2005 and 2007 Bridgette was around 130 pounds and what kept her on track was to keep a journal. She wrote down if she was mad, sad, if the day felt really heavy.

"I think that journaling is the number one key. It's one of the things that I tell people to start with," says Ali.

One of the things that Ali loves about journals is it keeps us accountable, lets us know right in front of us where we're at and why we're getting the results we are.

Bridgette told Ali that she walks on the treadmill 20-25 minutes to get her blood circulating and to just take the stress out of life.

Ali showed Bridgette some different workouts incorporating one treadmill to get the different burns.

In the beginning Bridgette will experience different results because she is more conscious of what she is eating and moving more on a conscious level, but Ali encouraged her to keep mixing it up so that her body never knows what to expect, never gets complacent.

Bridgette will spend so much time on the treadmill she is going to have to bedazzle the space around her. Ali got her started with a calendar to mark her progress.

Ali told her to track her workout, to write down exactly what she is doing on each and every day.

There are certain things that we automatically remember from when we were younger in P.E. There are some other things that will help us build strength that we are going to super set with our treadmill work so that we can take it to the next level.

After years of neglecting herself, Bridgette is getting back on track.

"I feel like now is my time to shine. I feel like I can give more to the world if I'm 100 percent present and if I'm 100 percent you know, healthy," says Bridgette.

Bridgette is taking on a new healthy lifestyle and Ali showed her how to make the most out of her workouts, but then it was time to get organized in the kitchen.

Ali came in and took note of what Bridgette had and what she didn't have so that they could make a list of what she needed to get in order to set herself up.

Ali suggested tracking how many calories Bridgette is eating because she was put on a 1,500 calorie suggested diet, so Ali had three meals at 375 and two snacks at 187.

Bridgette's refrigerator looked really good. As far as the choices available, if Ali could tell that Bridgette didn't like to grocery shop. It's not that there was bad stuff, but there was not a whole lot to eat in there. She told Bridgette that when she came back next time she wanted to see cut-up fruit, quinoa or brown rice.

Ali was pleased to see 12-grain bread and showed Bridgette the healthy way to make a sandwich for lunch.

Ali wanted to make sure that Bridgette did not cut anything out of her diet that is good for her, and bread is good within reason. One way to stay with a calorie budget is to make sandwiches open-faced, using only one slice of bread.

Sun Chips are a lot better than Doritos, but they are still 140 calories per serving size, which was one package. It is not something that she would suggest Bridgette eat too much of, and Ali suggested to add some humus with celery and carrots. She suggested sticking to finding ways that Bridgette was not going to feel deprived.

Bridgette admitted that every now and again she gets a yen for chocolate. Her mother loves chocolate too so she always liked to have a little something for the side.

Ali advised that the chocolate had too many calories for a snack, as it would take up the entire caloric intake for her meal and would not give her the energy needed to through her treadmill workouts, or the burpees or sit ups.

Bridgette had told Ali that she had specific goals and based on experience from when she was on the Biggest Loser and the things that she learned through that process, she follows guidelines and will forever be able to live a healthy happy life, knowing that her body will never again hold me back from doing something she wants.

Bridgette was on the verge of just blowing up, like she's ready. She wants it and knows what she's got to do.

"To have seen Ali on television, to watch her struggle, to see that she walked through everything that I'm walking through right now. And if she can do it, I can do it too," says Bridgette.

"When she walked in it was just like, it hit me. That this is real. This is my moment. That this is for me," says Bridgette. "It was totally unexpected."

Ali has a great feeling about Bridgette. When it comes to Living Big she thinks she's going to knock it out of the park. That brings Ali to her Big Three, three things that she hopes you take away from her story.

Number One: Get organized! Bridgette is. It's a great time saver, and will help you stay on top of things. Organization is the key to success.

Number Two: Journal. It's a terrific way to understand your feelings and work through difficulties. It works for Bridgette, it works for me and it'll work for you too.

Number Three: Now's your time! Not later, not in a few weeks, but now. Take charge of your life today.

A couple of months after Ali's first surprise, Bridgette is excited to be part of the Live Big family. Now she has the tools that she needed for such a long time. She didn't know that she was eating at least three or four portions.

She is the only one person so having measuring cups is such a great barometer and then having the scale has allowed her just to weigh food to know exactly what she was eating.

"What has surprised me most about my diet with just a little bit of tweaking and healthy eating, I have much more energy, I feel better and I don't need as much sleep," says Bridgette.

That is important, too, because she takes care of her mom. You can't always count on a specific amount of sleep.

Bridgette's mother gets to see her at her very best. She's seen her at her worst, so now she's coming back and realizing in taking care of her, she needs to take care of herself, so she gets to see her at her best. Bridgette gets a chance to share with her what she's eating and how she's doing.

She is even more conscious of things that she's making for her mom because she won't have anything in the house that she can't eat. She doesn't want to serve that to her mom because she still wants her to be as healthy as she can be even in the state that she's in.